Sunday, 2 October 2011

A British Court ruled that the arrest of Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 territories, had no legal grounds, and that the Sheikh can sue for compensation.

The judge ruled that Salah can seek compensation as the arrest procedures had no legal base. Yet, the court ruled that the detention of Salah was legal, and that the Sheikh still needs to head to a special immigration court to appeal a deportation order issued against him.

High Court Justice, Andrew Nicol, stated a few days ago that Salah was not informed on why he was being placed under arrest in June this year, and that he was only informed of these reasons two days after the fact.

The Judge said that due to this fact, Sheikh Salah can legally sue for compensation.

Sheikh Salah arrived in London before the end of June this year; he was planning a number of public meetings, including meetings with pro-Palestine groups, in addition to a meeting at the House of Parliament in London.

The Sheikh came to the country after an official invitation from Labor Party legislators who planned a pro-Palestine event at the Parliament.

Three days after he was legally allowed into the country, British immigration officers arrested him at his hotel and cuffed him before taking him to a police station; he was then held at an immigration detention facility for 21.

Despite the fact that Sheikh was arrested from his hotel room on June 28th, under direct orders issued by British Home Secretary, Theresa May; he was not informed of the reasons behind his arrest until June 30th.

On July 18th, Sheikh Salah was released on bail, but the bail agreement obliged him to observe a 15-hour nightly curfew, and prevented him from speaking in public.

He was also ordered to head to an immigration center on a daily basis, and was forced to wear a tracking device.

In the most recent court session against Salah, his attorney Rida Hussein, stated that Salah was arrested and held in detention without any legal grounds, and that the compensation case is based on the fact that the arrest was illegal.

Meanwhile, British Prosecutor Neil Shildon insisted that the Ministry of Interior “acted within its jurisdiction when it ordered the arrest and deportation of Salah”.

Sheikh Salah was on a 10-day tour in Britain, and was preparing to hold a number of meetings and public speaking tours, including the speech at the House of Commons. The tour was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. more